Key West Anchorage & Safe Place To Tie Tender Ashore

LattitudeAdjustment

Active Member
Apr 8, 2018
235
Palm Harbor FL 28°03’”N 82°46’”W
Boat Info
2003 480 Sedan Bridge
Engines
Cummins QSM 11's
Caribe DL12 Center Console Tender
w 40hp Yamaha
Planning a trip to KW for the month of June. Found some anchorages on the Waterway Guide that look decent. I am curious if anyone has any recent experience there and of importance to me is the safety of my tender while ashore in the evening. We have a Caribe RIB with a new 40hp Yamaha o/b and I have a cable with a padlock, but I think if someone really wants it, the locking scheme is just a nuisance for them. I called Monroe County Sheriff's office to get their read on tender thefts, and all they would say is... Yes, it does happen. No stats, but yes we get calls for tender thefts. :(

Would love to hear from anyone with experience from the Garrison Bight, Stock Island or surrounding areas while anchored up. Since I am staying a month, staying at a marina would get quite expensive.

Thank you for any information you can share.
Vince
www.lattitudeadjustment3.com
 
Years ago, when we did our first trip to KW, we stayed in Stock Island and took our dinghy to KW downtown. It was a long but fun ride.

If you're trying to stay on a budget, being in SI would be more wallet friendly, but you're obviously good distance away from the happening place. Since you're looking to be there for a month, you can figure out their complementary shuttle schedule.

Garrison's has a mooring field and you can find some spot to anchor in the area. Just keep in mind that you need to choose your weather window carefully, as it's pretty much exposed and I always have seen boats rocking during a mild blow. For this reason, I haven't considered mooring or anchoring there. June might be more forgiving on the weather window, so you might have a shot.

As for keeping your dinghy safe, in questionable areas I use cable lock to secure mine. If it's pretty bad, you might consider going all chain instead. But if the thieves are walking around with cutters, you're SOL. I'd do more research to get more updated local knowledge from various forums and social media platforms.
 
Thank you very much for your prompt reply. You bring some good information to light and I will apply that to my planning process. I think I may take your chain idea and put it into practice. Maybe someone else will add their comments or experience from being down there as well.

Thanks again.
 
I would not take the dinghy….. Uber is so popular there and basically free…… now if you have an old dinghy with a weed eater motor for sure take it in town….. funniest thing I have ever seen down there….. and no one stole it
 
I would not take the dinghy….. Uber is so popular there and basically free…… now if you have an old dinghy with a weed eater motor for sure take it in town….. funniest thing I have ever seen down there….. and no one stole it
KW has boat Uber's?
 
I would not take the dinghy….. Uber is so popular there and basically free…… now if you have an old dinghy with a weed eater motor for sure take it in town….. funniest thing I have ever seen down there….. and no one stole it
Scratchin my head trying to understand what you said...?
 
OMG.....no .....road ubers
OP said he would be in an anchorage and you told him not to take a dinghy, how is he going to get to shore?

I thought you were saying KW has some type of water taxi (Uber) service.
 
OP said he would be in an anchorage and you told him not to take a dinghy, how is he going to get to shore?

I thought you were saying KW has some type of water taxi (Uber) service.
Obviously take the dinghy to shore to some secure place near by then take an Uber. I had the impression he was fairly far to downtown. There is a lot of theft in KW if you don’t have to expose your stuff dont
 
The KW business associations needs to do something drastic about these thieves as I am sure that it has some impact on the boating tourist trade.
We rented a house down in key west next door to Tim Ott the dad to TJ from wicked tuna. He has a big center console in KW….. he kept all his high end fishing gear in a locked outdoor locker…. He was going to take us out fishing which would have been cool but his locker got cleaned out the night before
 
I was hoping to make some fishing trips to the Dry Tortugas each week. Key West seemed like the most practical spot to leave from. Maybe I need to rethink my strategy?

I really didn't want to spend the money on a marina for the entire month.
 
I have been going to KW since 1980.

Unfortunately the "feel free to steal it" politics have found their way to KW. There are no consequences for the thieves and the local liberal politicians just say: "They need it more than you do".

Check out the security at the big boat marinas.....it isn't there for looks. The bad guys do nothing but steal and rob every single night.

The cops know who most of them are but just don't have the support to lock them up. They get out the next day and go back to stealing other people's property.

BTW boats on mooring balls are not safe either.

Sad and pathetic.
 
I have been going to KW since 1980.

Unfortunately the "feel free to steal it" politics have found their way to KW. There are no consequences for the thieves and the local liberal politicians just say: "They need it more than you do".

Check out the security at the big boat marinas.....it isn't there for looks. The bad guys do nothing but steal and rob every single night.

The cops know who most of them are but just don't have the support to lock them up. They get out the next day and go back to stealing other people's property.

BTW boats on mooring balls are not safe either.

Sad and pathetic.
I personally knew a guy who got killed out on a mooring ball. Nobody charged. Al, didnt have 2 nickels, was just a sailor drifter.
 

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